More Than a Disguise
by Playing with Words
Summary: To protect her life, Kaoru must disguise herself as a boy. Things get even more complicated when she joins a band of theives lead by Battosai. KK AU
1. Chapter 1

More Than a Disguise

Chapter 1

From Kaoru's hiding place she couldn't see anything. It took all she had not to leave and find out what was going on. Whatever was happening, it wasn't good. Someone had come to their home in the middle of the night. She would have realized it to late if it weren't for her father who came into her room, pulled her from bed, and shoved them both into her closet. 

"Stay here. DO NOT come out until I come get you. I don't know what these men want, but I won't let them have you." With that her father left. Kaoru's mind somehow couldn't get around what was happening. Who were these people and what did they want? It didn't make sense. This was only the home of a simple lord and his daughter. They had no political power or large amounts of money. In fact they were like most other people; the only thing that was different was the title and small amount of land that went with it. In fact, whenever her father and she went into the city, that's exactly how they were treated; like regular folk.

When Kaoru's father did come back, she looked like she was considering leaping out of the closet and purging her home of the idiots who decided to interrupt her sleep. He turned when he saw his daughter in an adrenaline-fueled fury; he had to make sure that she didn't see his smile. He could tell that she was annoyed with the intruders. Any other person would be either scared stiff or foolishly confront the trespassers. Not his daughter. Even now, with her still waking up, she had a cool head. He was more proud of her common sense then he would ever be of her fighting abilities. 

"What's going on out there?" Kaoru's question brought him back to the subject at hand.

"I don't like it. They haven't broken anything or even searched for anything valuable to take. They're being too careful. I'm not sure what they want, but I know it isn't good." He took a deep breath and looked Kaoru in the eye. "Confronting them isn't a good idea. We need to get out of here and report this to the military post outside of city. After we tell the commanding officer know what's going on, we can come back and claim our home." 

Kaoru nodded in agreement. Her father was right. It wasn't a good idea to meet the enemy head on; especially, since they didn't know what they were getting into. There was only one problem that she had. 

"Do you think we can get dressed first? I personally don't want to ride into a military post with only a nightgown on." This time Kaoru's father didn't hide his smile.

&&&&&&

She didn't know what went wrong. One moment she was with her father escaping their home, the next she was alone trying to evade the intruders. They had almost made it to the stable when a group of men saw them and gave chase.

It never occurred to her that what was happening was more than a simple theft; but when she saw the more than 30 men gathered together as if in military formation she knew that what she stumbled into wasn't anything good. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw who she supposed was the leader. His white hair and dark stare sent chills down her spine. His whole person exuded a dangerous and dark feeling. The only word that had come to Kaoru's mind was evil. Whoever this man was, she knew she didn't want anything to do with him. Unfortunately, it was he who had come to her. 

Looking at the same scene that she was, Kaoru wasn't surprised when she felt her father was just as tense as she. It was when his body almost jumped in anger that she had turned her attentions to him. Her father had obviously seen something that enraged him. Looking in the same direction he was, she found the source of his rage. Gohei, the landowner whose land ran next to theirs. He had been trying for years to take hold of their land, but never succeeded. It seemed he had finally found a way to do so. 

Kaoru collapsed on the branch of a tree trying to catch her breath. None of that mattered now. Their escape came to a complete stop when a man stumbled across her and her father. His holler of alarm quickly alerted the rest of the men. She remembered vividly the white haired man ordering his men to find and kill them. It would become a memory that would haunt her thoughts and dreams for many years to come. She would never forget the moment that her father told her to run for her life as he stayed back to fight. She knew her father was dead when a small cheer came from the attackers.

So here she was now, alone, orphaned, and homeless. Things weren't looking good. She dropped her head back on the tree, and let the tears silently fall.

Though the tears helped, she knew that she couldn't do cry forever. She shook her head as if to clear her mind. She didn't have time to sit here and mourn all she had lost. Not when there were things she could still save. Her father sacrificed his life for her and she wasn't going to let it be in vain. She didn't know what she was going to do yet, but she knew that she wasn't going to just give up. 

Footsteps nearby brought her focus to the ground beneath her. It was two of the men that had come after her. She silently thanked her tomboy childhood where tree climbing was an everyday activity. It may have driven her caretakers crazy, but it sure did come in handy. 

"I wish we could just find her and get rid of her. If Yukishiro finds out that she got away, he'll have our heads for sure."

"We'll find her. How far could she get?"

So they were still after her. This was going to make things a lot more interesting. She watched them as they walked away. When she thought that they were far enough, she climbed down from her perch. Well, since they were looking for a girl; maybe it was time to revisit her tomboy self.

Walking in the general direction of the city, she found exactly what she needed. It seemed a farmer's wife had hung out her son's and husband's clothes out to dry. She felt bad about taking some of the clothes, but she knew it might be now or never. Promising herself that she'd repay them back, she grabbed the smaller set of clothes and left.

The pants seemed to fit well enough. The length turned out to be a little long; but she could cut off the excess once she got her hand on a knife. She used a long strand of heavy twine to secure the waist loosely. The last thing she wanted to do was to show off her female figure. With the bottom half of her taken care of, she turned to the task of hiding the other obvious signs of her gender. Though she wasn't in anyway buxom, it still was a pain to band herself down with the long piece of cloth that she made from one of the shirts. 

With the clothes finally taken care of and in place, Kaoru had to stop and considered her hair. She had always been proud of her hair. Her father said that it was just like her mother's, long and black. So black that it seemed that it seemed to be made of night. Kaoru's heart clinched with the thoughts of her father. She quickly stamped them down. There wasn't any time for emotions. She'd have leave the hair for now and hide it under the hat that she grabbed earlier. It was time to go. 

Her plan was to go to the military outpost and report what had happened to her father. Hopefully, the commander would be able to reclaim her home from this Yukishiro. 

Walking to the city, while keeping her eyes out for the men looking for her, took longer than she expected. By the time she got there, the sun wasn't far from setting. Her whole body was exhausted. She was ready to collapse, and her emotions were raw. Today had obviously drained her in more ways than one. 

Fortunately the outpost was on the outer edge of the city. With night coming in so rapidly, going into the city was something that she didn't want experience. During the day the city seemed pleasant enough, but night was when the city really came to life. She never took the time to find out what the night life offered, and she didn't want to start now. 

A wave of relief swept through her as the outpost came into sight. She had to keep herself from running to the door. The idea that this mess was coming to an end was a relief. There was nothing more she wanted then to be able to start picking up the pieces of her life and start over. 

Her thoughts and movements came to a halt when she heard two familiar voices. Stopping right outside the door, Kaoru stood there and listened. She was now certain. The men in the forest made it to the city before she did. Kaoru yelled at herself for not getting there faster. She shouldn't be moping around when there was so much at stake.

"Thanks a bunch Capt'n. It was such a tragedy to hear that the girl took her own papa's life. What's the world coming to when you can trust your own kin?"

"Well thank you for the notice. We will be sure to keep an eye out for Lady Kamiya. She shouldn't be too far from the estate. Do I need to send a detail over to help search the Kamiya land?"

"Oh, no sir. Master Gohei has everything under control. He's got the Kamiya place covered. He's using his own men to help with the search and the keep'n up with the land. So if ya see any strange men around, it's probably one of Gohei's men that he hired to help with the land."

"That's good to know. There's been some thefts in the area that's been keeping us on alert. Now that we now that there's going to be some new people in the city we can make sure we don't consider them suspects."

"Twas nut'n Capt'n. It's our duty to help. But if you'll excuse us we'll be on our way." 

Kaoru dove out of the way, but it was too late. They caught her.

"Get out of the way boy. I'm walkin here."

The taller of the two men pushed her aside as they walked out of the building. The shock and relief that she wasn't recognized paralyzed her. 

"You had better get home now. Its night and I bet that your parents are worried sick about you." Kaoru looked up to find the Captain looking down at her. She nodded and ran straight to the city. 

* * *

Next Chapter: Kaoru meets Sano and Battosai. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Since there was no moon that night, Kaoru had to navigate her way by using the light from the windows that offered it. Not that it mattered. She wasn't going anywhere. She didn't know where to go.

The small amount of hope that had taken root was savagely ripped out when she heard that she had been accused of killing her father and was on the run. She had to keep herself from being physically sick when she heard that. She loved her father more than anything, and to be accused of murdering him was a blow she wasn't prepared to take.

Kaoru chastised herself for being naïve enough to believe that just making it to the outpost was enough to get her home back. Whoever had taken over her home, (She knew it wasn't Gohei, he wasn't smart enough to tie his own shoes.) had obviously covered all the bases including the local authorities. Thanks to the visit The Gruesome Twosome made to the Captain last night, the large amount of men at the Kamiya estate had a perfect explanation. Nobody was going to suspect a thing.

Even though she knew that feeling hopeless wasn't going to help anything, she still felt its loss. Her home now belonged to another and there wasn't anything she could do about it. These thoughts filled her mind as she made her way down the street. They occupied her attentions so much that she didn't even notice the punch coming at her.

The feel of the fist as it made contact with her cheekbone was more than enough to bring her focus back into her surroundings. In fact, it did more than bring her attentions around, it made her furious. The anger that filled her wasn't the kind that came from some minor mishap; it was a rage that came from a having the worst day of your life and refusing to put up with anymore crap.

The attacker turned out to be one of five men. Was she so beside herself that she didn't notice this mob of idiots in front of her? The sting of her bruise was proof that she had stupidly let her guard down.

"That should teach ya not to get in our way. Don't you know who we are?"

"I don't have a clue who you are, nor do I care. So if you'll just let me by, I'll get out of your way so you can proclaim your greatness somewhere else."

"Naw. I might not get all that you're sayin', but I do know that that wasn't very nice what you just said. I believe that it's time to teach you a lesson, boy"

Kaoru sighed as she got in her fighting stance. She wasn't in the mood to fight this band of the brainless, but on the bright side this might give her a chance to work out some frustration.

At first, Kaoru played with the man dodging his every swing. She soon got tired of that and started to fight back. With a few quick but precise moves, Kaoru had the man on his back. Though using a bokken would have been her preferred fighting technique, it didn't mean that she wasn't just as effective when fighting hand-to-hand.

When they saw that one of their men was on the ground, the other four came at Kaoru at once. Bracing herself for the oncoming attackers, Kaoru felt a presence by her side. Soon enough, with the stranger's help, the four attackers-turned-victims laid in a messy pile at their feet.

Before she could express her gratitude to the fighter, she found herself recovering from a hard pat on the back. This man was a lot stronger than she thought.

"Thanks for letting me join in," he laughed, "I couldn't let you have all the fun."

"Ah… you're welcome?" Kaoru couldn't tell if he was just joking or if she had stumbled onto another lunatic.

"The name's Sano. It seems as if you got yourself into some trouble, but I am impressed that you were able to handle most it yourself. Not many kids your age could handle their own in a fight like that."

"Thanks, my dad taught me. He always thought I should know how to defend myself."

"He's a smart man then. To many people go around thinking that they can fight, but in reality they quickly become punching bags for guys like me." Sano smirked as he said this. Kaoru had no problem believing that this guy knew his way around a fight. His muscular build said that he could put power behind his punches; and his tall, lean look spoke of his speed. Sano had good reason to enjoy fighting so much, he was built for it.

"Well kid, I was just on my way home. Where were you heading?"

"I don't know. I guess I should find a place to stay." Kaoru looked away as Sano looked at her more intensely.

"Usually kids your ages are at home, shouldn't you be there?"

Kaoru quickly put a wall up around her heart, now wasn't the time for emotions.

"Not if you don't have a home to go to. "

"Well, we'll fix that. I can at least give you a place to stay tonight and maybe even more."

Kaoru was a little more than shocked.

"Why would you do that? I'm just some kid in the street to you."

"You're a talented kid in the street. Let's just say I hate to see it wasted. Now let's get going, if I'm too late getting home my girl's going to kill me. Anyway we should probably have her take a look at your eye. You're going to have a nice bruise in the morning."

Their destination turned out to be an old hotel in the middle of the city.

"Is this where you live?"

"Yep, good ol' home sweet home. It's not much to look at on the outside, but the inside's a different story."

Kaoru hoped so. The rundown exterior made her reconsider staying here. But beggars can't be choosers, so it was Casa a la Deathtrap for tonight. Besides he did say the inside was better than the outside, but that could mean anything.

When they went up the steps and walked inside, Kaoru instantly noticed the truth of Sano's words. Though it wasn't a palace, it was nice; but what Kaoru appreciated the comfortable atmosphere that it had. This place wasn't just a place to crash, it was a home.

Walking into the empty lobby, she stopped in the middle of the room as Sano yelled for a fox. She wasn't sure why he needed a fox, but when some woman yelled something back about a rooster Kaoru knew that whatever was going to happen while she was here, it would keep her on her toes.

"Rooster, where have you been? You were supposed to come back over an hour ago." Out of a back room a tall, dark haired lady appeared. This must have been Sano's girl. She wasn't surprised. This woman exuded grace and intelligence. She didn't seem like the kind of woman to easily give up. Kaoru may have not known Sano very long, but she did know that this is exactly what a person needed to be married to him, smarts and stubbornness.

"Sorry, Fox. I got caught up in a fight." Sano smiled as "Fox" rushed over and checked him over asking if he was alright. "I'm fine. It turned out to be not much of a fight. This guy over here took out most of them before I even got there."

Sano turned to Kaoru. "Kid, I'd like you to meet my wife Megumi. She's the best healer in the city, and the person that I wanted to look at your eye."

Megumi walked from Sano to Kaoru giving her an assessing look. Kaoru hissed when Megumi's hand grazed the bruise. Even thought the bruise hurt, it was the last thing on Kaoru's mind. She prayed that Megumi wouldn't see through her disguise. The last thing she wanted was to put everyone in danger. Hiding a criminal wasn't a situation that she wanted to put them in.

"That must have been some punch that you took, your face is pretty swollen from it. But it doesn't look like anything is permanently damaged. Though you are going to have a pretty good headache come morning, but right now I think that the biggest problem right now is hunger. You look like you haven't eaten for days. When was the last time you had a meal?"

Kaoru wasn't sure and said just as much. Megumi "tsked" and ushered her into the backroom, which turned out to be the kitchen. Until know Kaoru hadn't really noticed the hunger pains, but because the whole room was filled with heavy smells of homemade food they became very apparent.

Sitting her down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table, Megumi left to get her a bowl of stew and a piece of bread. If felt good to finally sit down. She ate in silence listening to the small talk that Sano and Megumi were having. There was something in the tone of their voices that made Kaoru suspicious that there was something deeper to their conversation then they let on. Kaoru was too tired and hungry to really take her focus off the food and move it towards them. Though there was one question that Megumi asked that did finally capture her attention.

"So, does he know about our guest?"

Sano shook his head. "No, I have yet to see him. I'm not sure how he will react to our present company, but I don't think that I'll get any awards for bringing the squirt back with me." He looked over at Kaoru and noticed that she was listening in. Sano instantly switched from serious to goofy. "Well, kid I guess it's time to get you to bed. You look dead on your feet. Just follow me and I'll take ya to where you can stay."

Kaoru quietly followed Sano out of the kitchen and into the lobby. She may have been tired before, but she was wide awake now. Whoever Sano and Megumi were talking about, he didn't seem like he'd be happy to find her here. She wasn't too sure if she wanted to meet him in return.

But the hope of getting to bed before he came left the moment a man walked in the front door. He couldn't be much taller than she was, but it wasn't the height that you noticed. It was the long red hair and the gleaming gold eyes. Eyes that were right now staring at her as if to wish her to burst into flames. She let out a breath when his gaze went from her to Sano. She had no doubt that this was the most dangerous man that she had ever met. Yukishiro was nothing compared to the man in front of her. His presence was enough to scare any man. She couldn't even imagine what he could do with the sword at his side.

And even through all the chills and eerie feelings that he gave her, she somehow knew that she would be safe. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her. This feeling only added to the sense of attraction that she had started to feel the moment that she saw him. She mentally shook her head to clear the crazy thought. Whatever possessed her to feel attracted to him had to stop. Now wasn't exactly the time to go boy crazy.

"Sano, I believe that we need to have a talk." That was all Kaoru heard from the angry, deep voice before he made his way up the stairs with Sano quickly following behind.

Kaoru stood there taking in what just happened when Megumi came up from behind her and offered to take her to a room. Kaoru only nodded her response and followed the woman upstairs and into a room where Kaoru finally got some rest.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, but I do enjoy it.

Chapter 3

Kaoru was up just before the sun's light even touched the horizon. The memories and nightmares from the day before had kept her up until the early morning hours. But now she was up for a different reason. She had to leave.

Even though Sano and Megumi so openly rolled out the welcome mat to her, she still felt it would be better if she left. Not only would it be a danger to them with her being here, but the man last night wasn't happy about her staying. From the look that he gave Sano and her, that much was obvious. She would have hated to be in the room when the man and Sano had their talk. It couldn't have been pleasant.

So that's why she was leaving. The last thing that she wanted to do was to cause trouble. She had made the plan to leave last night. She made it all the way downstairs and to the front door without a sound before noticing that she was being watched. Turning, Kaoru saw that the man from last night, sitting in the lobby watching her.

His form looked completely relaxed in his chair as if watching escapees was an everyday occurrence, but Kaoru knew better. From what she saw last night she had no problem believing that in less than a heartbeat this man could turn into a very dangerous weapon if needed. Kaoru wasn't going to give him the need. As she inched her way to the door, his expression turned amused.

"You're not going to get very far if you keep moving at that speed." Kaoru almost jumped at the sound of his voice. It was still as dark and deep as last night. Just the sound of it caused her to have to suppress a shiver. This man was obviously like none that she had ever met.

"Where do you plan on going this morning? It must be pretty important if you're leaving without saying goodbye to Sanosuke and Megumi. It doesn't seem very grateful to me." Didn't seem grateful? He was one of the reasons she was leaving in the first place. Leaving at the crack of dawn didn't exactly appeal to her, but she knew that it would be for the best. She took a deep breath and looked him right in the eye.

"What do you want?"

His mouth grew into a predatory smile. "I heard a lot of good things about you last night. Sano has become a fan of yours. Not only do you have an ability to fight that is beyond your age, but you also seem to be able to take care of yourself when a situation becomes difficult. "

"So what?"

"Those are characteristics that could come in handy." He raised his hand stopping her from asking why all she was so popular all of the sudden. "I may have an opportunity that you may want to take advantage of. But first there are some questions that I need answered. The first question that I should like answered is that of your name. Sano seemed to have completely missed that fact last night."

"My name is Kam.." Idiot! What's the use of having a disguise if you use your real name?

"Kam? That's your name?"

"Nickname."

"How old are you?"

How was she supposed to know how old she was in boy years?

"How old do you think I am?"

Rolling his eyes he bit out a "How am I supposed to know?"

Alright it was time for a best guess. "17."

"Sounds about right. I would have guessed that you were older because of your height, but it was your voice that made me wonder."

Her voice? So much for thinking this plan through. One thing was for certain, if she lived through all this, she was never masquerading as one of the other gender ever again.

"I…ah… had a throat injury when I was younger." Not the best explanation, but at least she didn't say anything about puberty.

The look in his eyes told Kaoru that he didn't exactly believe her excuse, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Where did you plan on going?"

"I don't know. But where ever it is, I should be leaving. Thank you for letting me stay the night."

Kaoru moved towards the door but stopped again when he told her to wait. She didn't know why she stopped. If it was any other man she would have left without a second thought. Yet another puzzle she would need to figure out.

"I'd like to offer you a job. You seem to be exactly what I need right now, an extra pair of experienced hands. You don't have any connections and you're also able to fight. You'll be able to stay here with free room and board and maybe get some extra money on the side. The downside is that it's a dangerous job."

"What's the job?"

"Let's just say it's in the repossessing business. I'll tell you more when and if you pass the try-out."

"Try-out?"

* * *

After Kenshin's interrogation, he brought Kam into the kitchen to eat breakfast. Kam seemed to be surprised with the fact that Kenshin knew how to cook. And in return, Kenshin was surprised when Kam started mumbling about Kenshin's cooking being better than his own. There seemed to be many unanswered questions about this boy.

While Kam was eating and complaining, Kenshin silently studied the boy over his cup of tea. He wondered what Kam would look like without his eye being slightly swollen and discolored. Other than a few details here and there, he seemed to be a pretty normal teenage boy. Though he did look like he felt awkward in his own skin; but that wasn't anything out of the ordinary concerning teenage boys.

But every time Kenshin looked at the youth, it was Kam's eyes that struck him. They were an expressive, dark shade of blue that pulled at him. Maybe it was more than the lack of information that made him wary of the boy, maybe it was the way his eyes drew him in. Whoever this boy was, he was more than he seemed.

"So what am I to call you?"

Kam's question brought Kenshin out of his thoughts.

"Battosai."

Kam's eyes flew open.

"THE Battosai."

"Yes." Kenshin wasn't shocked by Kam's response. He was well known, but it wasn't for his good deeds. His name brought fear to both the good guys and the bad. Though the name could be useful at times, it was nothing he was proud of. He received the name during a time that he would do anything for his cause, even murder. Back then he wore his name like a badge of honor, but now it was a label that weighed him down. He still used it for his purposes; but now that he was older and wiser, his purposes and actions were ones that hopefully could make up for some of the hurt he had caused.

"Then I guess I should thank you." Kenshin's head whipped up in shock. Thank him? Was this child's head completely dense?

"For what?" His voice came out like how he moved his blade: cold, sharp, and barely above a whisper.

"For standing up when no one else would." Kam's answer shocked Kenshin enough that he didn't know how to react. So he did the only thing he could think of, leave.

* * *

When Kenshin finally returned that night after doing some reconnaissance (and a lot of thinking), he and Sano took Kam to an alley on the north side of town. Normally, the north side of town was for the very rich only. Common riff raff who weren't loaded enough weren't welcome and quickly introduced to the local authorities. But they weren't here to mess around; it was time for Kam's audition. This mission was a little more complicated than the simple snatch and grab. It required some brains.

Kenshin trusted Sano's word enough to believe that Kam could fight if it came down to it, but he didn't need some mindless fighter, he needed someone who could figure out problems in intense and dangerous situations.

"All you have to do is go into a closed off room in the basement of the house. There you will find a desk. In it there is a bag of coins and a letter. The letter will have a picture of a quill stamped into the wax." Sano stopped and looked at Kenshin who nodded and motioned for Sano to continue. Sano turned back to Kaoru. "I will be here in the streets keeping an eye out for anyone who might enter the 

house or look suspicious. Battosai will go with you until the back door just in case someone is home that we don't know about."

Kaoru nodded her head in understanding. All she had to do was get into this room and grab the stuff and go. It seemed like an easy enough job, but that was yet to be proven. Battosai and she walked across the street to the large house, but instead of going up to the front door they silently made their way to the back. When they got to the servant's entrance, Kaoru wondered how they were going to get in without attracting any attention. Her question was quickly answered when Battosai pulled out a small, thin piece of metal and proceeded to lock pick the door. When he turned to Kaoru and saw her shocked look he just smirked, whispering "Only one of my many talents."

Kaoru just rolled her eyes in response making him smirk all the more. When the door opened, she turned to him and asked if anyone was in the house that she should be aware of. Battosai shook his head, "No, the master and his wife are currently in the capital. They took the majority of their servants with them leaving the housekeeper, but she's gone home for the night. But that doesn't mean that you get to take your sweet time."

"Gee, and here I was wondering if I could stay awhile and scope out their reading selection." Without a second look, Kaoru walked through the door. Though it was dark, she could tell from the little moonlight there was that she had just walked into the kitchen. Looking around the room she took stock of the items in the room, just in case there was something that could come in handy later on.

On the side of the room was a door. Kaoru mentally shrugged and started her search there. She wasn't sure where to go, but as long as she could find a staircase that went down she should find what she was looking for.

When she opened it, it did reveal what she needed. But it presented another problem, no light. Somehow, walking down an unfamiliar flight of stairs into an even more unfamiliar basement in the dark didn't appeal to her. Moving back to the kitchen, she looked for anything that could help her. After a few minutes she found a small, mostly used candle and some matches.

This provided her with just enough light that she was able to make her way down the stairs and into the basement. When she got there she easily found the room that was blocked off because of the obvious, big lock hanging on the door handle. It was practically a sign that said "Stay Out".

Kaoru looked at the door trying to figure a way in. Battosai was right; she didn't have time to waste. She couldn't unhinge the door because they were on the other side. She obviously couldn't break down the door. She could go back upstairs and get the Battosai to come down and pick the lock, but that wouldn't help her pass the "audition."

Taking a deep breath, she thought of other options. Then it hit her. There was a dumb weightier upstairs in the kitchen, but now that she looked around she couldn't see it down here. That only left one option that the other side of the elevator was in that room.

Rushing upstairs, Kaoru went straight for the elevator. It was small, but with some contortions on her part she could fit. Lifting herself in, while being careful with the candle, turned out to be more of a feat than she predicted; but she made it. Grasping the ropes at the back, Kaoru took the dumb weightier to the bottom floor. When she got there, she saw exactly what Sano had said. The desk was in the middle of the room. On it was a large candelabra and a mess of papers. Being careful not to disturb anything, she searched in the desk. She quickly found the bag of money, but the letter was harder to find.

Kaoru wondered how important this letter could be. She guessed Battosai and Sano could get money from pretty much anywhere, so it had to be this letter that was the real motive for breaking in to this house. She found it in the back of one of the drawers, an obvious bad attempt at a hiding place. Looking at the letter in her hands, she wondered what information it held. Battosai wasn't stupid enough to come into a high risk neighborhood to steal some worthless piece of paper. If she opened it now, it would be more than apparent that she had read the contents. No, it would be safer to keep it closed. She may not have known Battosai long, but she wasn't stupid enough to think that he would be okay with her reading what was on the letter.

With a promise to investigate more into what made this letter so important later, Kaoru stuffed herself back into the dumb weightier and pulled herself back to the main floor. When she got there, she found Battosai waiting for her.

"Did you get the items?"

"Oh, I'm fine. No injuries or problems at all. How are you this evening?" It probably wasn't wise to speak like this to the man who was so well known for his ability to kill, but she couldn't help it.

"Are you always annoying?" She could feel the growl in his voice.

"What can I say? You bring out the best in me." When she said that, his eyes took on a new look. She wasn't sure what he saw, but it wasn't anything that she wanted to explore. But whatever it was, he was holding something back. "I have the two items. What do we do now?"

"We now deliver the goods to the rightful owners. I told you we worked in repossessing." Just then a loud drunken holler came from outside.

"Hey, I'm just enjoying a moonlight stroll. What's wrong with that?"

Battosai turned to Kaoru with a smile on his face. "There's the signal. It's time we left."

They walked all the way from the north side of the city to the west central side. It was like going from one end of the spectrum to the other. The west central side wasn't anything like the north. While the north had a new, clean look; the west was old and dirty. The people looked tired and worn. You could tell that some of them wouldn't have been able to remember when their last meal was. It was a hard sight for Kaoru to see.

Though she wasn't rich in any sense of the word, her father never let her want for anything. Seeing a place like this broke her heart. She held back any kind of emotion that could easily give her away, and while she wanted to help these people that she knew that she couldn't do it right now.

They stopped at a restaurant called the Akabeko. Sano and the Battosai went in as if they had done so many times. Kaoru followed close behind. When they were inside, Battosai pulled her aside as Sano went forward. Kaoru stood there watching as Sano took the bag of money and gave it to a woman.

"Her name is Tae. She owns this establishment." Kaoru jumped as she felt his whisper against her ear. Goosebumps lined her arms as her heart started to beat faster. Having him so near was causing havoc on her body. "The money that Sano is giving her will go to some of the families in this neighborhood." He straightened and turned to face her. His eyes took possession of hers. "We're not your average gang of thieves. Whatever money we steal goes to people who need it more than the ones who originally owned it. Tonight when you robbed Kanryu's home, you showed me that you have an ability to solve problems when under pressure. You've passed your audition and are welcome to join us. In doing so, you can live in the hotel with the three of us and have your food provided. If not, you can stay tonight; but I need you to leave in the morning."

She had no problem answering. Staying was what she wanted to do. Not only would she have a place to live, but she would be doing something important. It also gave her time in which to make a plan on how to get her home back from Yukishiro.

"I'll stay."

Kenshin nodded at her response. He turned back around and watched Sano walk back to Kam and he. He didn't know how to explain it but part of him was relieved when Kam said that he would stay. For some reason he was growing attached to the youth, which made Kenshin even more uncomfortable. He was not a man who did or felt things for no good reason. There was something unique about this boy, and he was going to find out what.

"Alright, business is done. Let's go back home. I'm starving." Nodding at Sano's words Kenshin lead the way out of the restaurant.

Kaoru was overall pretty happy about this whole set up. At first, the idea of going into the "repossessing business" made her feel a little guilty; but now that she knew where the money was going she didn't mind as much. But there was one thing that was bothering her. She had recognized the name that Battosai had mentioned, Kanryu. He was a government scribe in charge of sending and receiving military intelligence. That letter that she took tonight couldn't have been some casual correspondence. It had to have some importance to it. And she was going to find out what it was.

* * *

Next Chapter: Secrets are revealed, but which ones?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They were robbing a bank today. Not for the money in the vault, but for the files in the bank manager's office. Since her initiation to the group, the Battousai had always puzzled her. For someone who is supposed to be a thief extraordinaire he sure didn't line his pockets with the money that they came across. He instead gave whatever profit they would have made and to those who were less fortunate. It was probably one reason among many that Kaoru was falling in love with him, which was a feeling that was too dangerous to foster. She liked to think that if she could somehow return to the normal, everyday girl that she once was (without the wanted posters and military force after her) there could be at least a small chance that a relationship could take place. But all the wishing and wanting in the world would not bestow on Kaoru the desire that she carried. She stopped herself from thinking anymore. The simple truth was that letting Battousai, Sano, and Megumi know who she was would only bring trouble and that is exactly what would happen if they were found to be aiding and abetting a fugitive; not to mention gain the attention of the men who killed her father. She refused to bring danger to the people she had come to consider her family especially since hers was taken away.

The plan was simple enough. They had been preparing for this all week. Recon started with Kaoru and Battousai scouting the perimeter, double checking every window, door, and crack. The inside of the bank was Sano and Megumi's job. The night guard was a strong, value driven man who thanked God every night for this country and his mama. It was obvious that getting the necessary information out of this man (i.e. shift times and security procedures) was going to take some work. But in the end Sano did get the information they needed. All that was left was for Megumi to play the part of a potential new customer that needed to see if this bank was the perfect place to hold her vast amounts of money in.

The target that they were after was a letter that was in the bank manager's office. Kaoru wasn't privy to why this piece of correspondence was so important, but she had come to enjoy working with her "gang" and would rather help them out instead of watching them risk their safety.

The first part of the plan depended on the intel that Sano retrieved. According to Sano's source there shouldn't be any night guard between 12:15 and 1:00 because the guard went to go get supplies and a late dinner. So when the designated time came and the guard exited the bank (locking the doors behind him), three different shapes emerged out of the dark from different directions and started towards the back of the bank.

In Battousai and "Kam's" inspection of the perimeter, they found that the door at the back of the bank had a lock that was just asking to be picked. This job became Sano's after he had bragged about his amazing lock-picking abilities. As Kaoru watched Sano prepare and start lock-picking with a little more flare and pizzazz than required, she smiled at the Battousai who smirked in return.

The click of the lock moving back and the opening of the door seemed to send echoes into the dark behind them. Sano looked back at both of them with a sheepish look which had two sets of rolling eyes respond to it. With a shrug of his shoulders, Sano stood up and turned the door knob. The events that followed the opening of the door happened quickly and provided Kaoru a great source of humor.

As the door knob clicked open and the door was slightly ajar, a low throaty growl could be heard. Kaoru and Battousai's first reactions were to slam their bodies up against the wall, staying deathly still, and holding their breaths. Sano's first reaction was to push the door in to see what was making that sound. His second reaction was to run, turning Sano from an intruder into a moving target.

After watching Sano turn a corner with the guard dogs right behind him, Kaoru and Battousai each finally took a breath and slowly separated themselves from the wall. As if reading each other's minds, they slipped through the door and into the bank.

They would have been in complete darkness if it weren't for the brightness of the moon shining through the front windows of the bank. The light poured in the bank basking everything in blue. It was this blue light reflecting off the large, gold lettering on the door of the bank manager's office that lead them to their destination. Lately, Kaoru had no problem entering rooms that she did not belong, but the gold writing shining so clearly in the dark seemed to cause the feeling of ice water being poured down her spine. She didn't know what it was about this place, but it felt like something was bad was going to happen and she was walking right into it.

Kam reached out to open the door but found it locked and turned to Battousai with a look of surprise. He responded by moving her to the side without as much as a word. The moves he made against the door were fast and silent. After that it only took a tap on the door to have it open with ease. Kam was sure that it had to do with off-setting the hinges, but he moved so quickly she couldn't be sure.

"If you could do that, why did you let Sano open the outside door?"

Battousai almost looked a little sheepish, a look that put a smile on her face and a twist in her heart.

There was nothing amazing or extra-ordinary about Mr. Isurugi's office. On the surface it seemed to be clean and organized, but both Kam and Battousai knew that somewhere in this room was a file that wasn't like the others.

Automatically, Kam went to the left and Battousai on the right. Each looked in drawers, knocked on walls to find hollow spaces, and checked if any floor boards were loose. After every nook and cranny in the room was inspected, Kam and Battousai looked around in confusion. Wherever it was, they weren't seeing it. Looking at each other with an unspoken agreement, they switched sides of the room and started the process over again.

The first sound came from the lock at the front door. The next was the door opening, then footsteps on the hard wood floor. It all happened so fast that Kam hardly had a chance to see where Batousai was dragging her. When they stopped, Kam soon realized that they were in the closet (which wasn't made to hold two bodies.) Because of the dark, Kam had to concentrate about what was going on using her other senses. She could hear two men talking in the room they were just in. Their muffled voices were just clear enough that she could tell they were talking about some kind of business. But try as she may, it was her other senses that were taking all of her concentration.

She had never been this close to Battousai before. She had always tried to keep her distance when they weren't on a job, but now she had no choice but to stand flush up against him. Whatever was going on outside of their hideaway couldn't get past the sensation of his hand on her hip. Not until his first whispers did she realize that this mouth was so close to her ear.

"Don't make a sound. This could lead to something." The only reaction she could make was to nod her head. The conversation that occurred outside of the hideaway had started out casually. From the sounds of it, at least from what she could concentrate on, there were two well-spoken men. Each made remarks about how their individual businesses were going and how much of a profit they expected to see over the next year.

As if a switch had been flipped, the discussion took a serious turn. The man Kam assumed to be Mr. Isurugi asked the other (who name seemed to be Kihei) if he was ready to join "the movement."

When Kihei answered in the affirmative, Mr. Yamamoto started to explain some of the "give and take" that joining would require. There was a silent moment before Mr. Isurugi started explaining that Kihei would sign everything over to the "organization" on the event of his death, in return Kihei will get certain benefits and perks by becoming a member.

There was another moment of silence before Kihei said yes and started the paperwork. Soon the conversation went back to a lighter topic as Kihei signed his life away. All while this was happening, Kam was slowly turning back into Kaoru. She had tried to keep her persona of Kam ever since she became a wanted fugitive. But here in this closet, she couldn't seem to help herself. Battousai's hand still lay heavily on her hip and his body heat seemed to set her own in overdrive. Especially, when he leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"So, Kam… I was just wondering how long you were planning on pretending that you're a boy. It seems like such a waste."

Kaoru jerked back and looked up at him. He pulled her back, but this time he seemed to surround her. Both of his hands where on either side of her head as he leaned into her.

"How… how did you know?"

The look in his eyes changed into something predatory and primal. "Oh, I don't think you understand the way that you carry yourself. I have to admit you had me fooled for about a second, but there was something inside of me that just screamed for you. The way you breathe, the way you move, I especially like the way I catch you looking at me. You could be a dangerous creature if you wanted to."

Kaoru's mind seemed to be struggling for air. He knew? What was she going to do now? She never had a chance to think any further because the feel of his hand caressing her cheek sent fireworks ablaze in her brain. But it turned out that wasn't the peak of the celebration. The first and continued contact of his lips against hers brought her body to a whole new awareness.

She leaned into him as his arm wrapped around her waist. The kiss took only seconds, but she felt that she was no longer the same person as she was just moments ago. When Battousai started pulling away from her, an act she didn't fully appreciate, she finally remembered where she was and what dangers waited for them outside that door.

"Now we are going to have a very long and thorough conversation after this whole mess is taken care of. Then I plan to finish what we've started here."

Kaoru's mind was going a thousand miles a minute. She wished that she had more time to think, but with the Battousai so close and with the conversation going on outside she wasn't sure what to do. But she didn't even get that moment to think before the men outside the door caught her attention.

"I just received a letter from Lord Yukishiro that they have all the supplies gathered at the Kamiya estate. Your job will be to gather these items and bring them there in three days. Any questions? No? Well, welcome to "The Movement." You're going to be part of something great."

That was all she needed to hear. She yearned for another moment with Battousai but it was now or never. Before he could do anything she ran out of the closet and into the next room.


End file.
